Israel-Hamas War - What happened on day 70?

During operational activity in the Gaza City neighborhood of Shejaia, IDF troops killed three hostages taken by Hamas after mistaking them for terrorists, IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said on Friday evening.

The three victims include Yotam Haim, who was abducted from Kfar Aza on October 7 and Samer Talalka who was abducted from Nir Am on the 7th.

During fighting in Shejaiya, Gaza, an IDF force mistakenly identified three Israeli hostages as a threat. They opened fired and killed them.

The bodies were returned to Israel and identified as:
🕯️ Yotam Haim, abducted from Kfar Gaza
🕯️ Samar Fouad Talalka, abducted from Nir Am… pic.twitter.com/Cx6KbGw7RH

— Aviva Klompas (@AvivaKlompas) December 15, 2023

The family of the third victim asked that they not be identified.

Identifying the bodies

The IDF said that following the incident, acting on a suspicion of the identities of the deceased, their bodies were brought back to Israel for examination where it was determined they had, indeed, been among the hostages.

The IDF added that an investigation was immediately opened into the circumstances of the event. So far, the details regarding what happened have not yet been discussed with the public.

This is a developing story.

Likud MK Tally Gotliv accused the IDF on Friday evening of attempting to end the Gaza war by publicizing the killing of three Gaza hostages by friendly fire.

"In the name above all names, why would the IDF spokesperson publish at this time the tragic news about the accidental killings?" Gotliv wrote on X, arguing that the spokesperson's announcement "does not serve any purpose" at this stage of the Gaza war.

The three victims were named by the IDF as Yotam Haim, Samer Talalka, and Alon Shamriz, all of whom were kidnapped on October 7.

The IDF said that following the incident, acting on a suspicion of the identities of the deceased, their bodies were brought back to Israel for examination where it was determined they had, indeed, been among the hostages.

"How does this strengthen IDF soldiers?" she asked.

בשם כל השמות למה למה דובר צהל בעיתוי הזה מפרסם את ההודעה העצובה והטרגית כ״כ על הרג בשוגג של 3 חטופים?? איך זה מחזק את חיילי צהל?
איזו מטרה זה משרת?
שום מטרה! אלא את הפסקת הלחימה בקרוב הרבה לפני שצריך לסיימה.
נורא.

— טלי גוטליב (@TallyGotliv) December 15, 2023

"What purpose does it serve? No purpose [other than] stopping the fighting much sooner than it needs to end," she claimed.

The IDF added that an investigation was immediately opened into the circumstances of the event.

The United States agrees with Israel that its ongoing war against Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in Gaza "could go on for months," but Washington was discussing about more surgical operations in scope and scale, the White House said.

"We agree with the Israelis that this conflict could go on for months," White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Friday.

On October 29, November 7, and November 30 to December 2, International Criminal Court Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan made more statements and gave observers a deeper understanding of how he approaches the Israeli-Palestinian conflict than he had in the previous nearly two and a half years of his term.

What follows is an analysis of where his statements show he is likely to go, followed by a review of some cutting-edge related issues that top Israeli officials are concerned about and could also reflect on the broader picture of ICC-Israel relations.

The Jerusalem Post has also had extensive contact with Khan’s office, previous ICC officials, and top Israeli officials on a variety of issues.

Probably the two most critical issues will be whether Khan views Israel’s targeting system as legitimate and its legal system of self-prosecution of its own soldiers as legitimate.

In analyzing that issue, it will be crucial to see whether Khan rules that IDF attacks on hospitals, mosques, and schools were: 1) justified because Hamas abused them; 2) unjustified because the IDF failed to prove both military necessity and proportionality; or 3) sometimes justified and sometimes not.

The IDF thwarted an attempted stabbing attack on troops operating in the West Bank city of Nablus, the IDF said on Friday.

After reservists from the 8109th Battalion observed a suspect approaching them wielding a knife, the troops opened fire, killing the the assailant. No casualties were reported among IDF troops.

During operational activity in the Gaza City neighborhood of Shejaia, IDF troops mistakenly killed three hostages taken by Hamas after mistaking them for terrorists, IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said on Friday evening.

The three victims include Yotam Haim, who was abducted from Kfar Aza on October 7 and Samer Talalka who was abducted from Nir Am on the 7th.

The family of the third victim asked that they not be identified.

The IDF spokesperson announced that the Israeli military had hit another series of Hezbollah targets inside Lebanese territory.

Responding to more rocket launches from Lebanon, the IDF said the air force hit Hezbollah terror infrastructure, military sites, and a command center.

The IDF also hit an additional site where Hezbollah had fired rockets that crossed into Israel, triggering alarms in the Golan Heights area of Shaba Farms.

Soldiers from the IDF’s Maglan unit, along with Shin Bet personnel, battled Hamas terrorists in the Khan Yunis neighborhood where Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was raised and lived in recent years, the IDF said on Friday.

In one of the engagements, the Shin Bet and IDF troops conducted their efforts on the ruins of one of the houses where Sinwar lived in the past few years, the IDF reported.

The structure had been demolished by an IDF airstrike shortly after the start of the war.

Over the course of the fighting, the Israeli soldiers eliminated numerous Hamas terrorists, the IDF added. Additionally, the IDF and Shin Bet personnel located a long-range artillery barrel as well as a number of shafts, one of which contained weapons.

Further, the Israeli security forces found weapons and intelligence materials during a raid on the home of the head of the northern Khan Yunis Brigade’s rocket array.

IDF and Shin Bet forces operate in Khan Yunis neighborhood where Hamas leader, Yahya Sinwar, lived in recent years. December 15, 2023. (credit: IDF)

Terrorists emerge from tunnel with RPG

During the fighting that took place in the area, the Israeli troops identified a terrorist squad emerging from a nearby tunnel.

One of the terrorists wielded an RPG and took aim at the Israeli personnel. The IDF and Shin Bet quickly eliminated the terrorist, along with the rest of the squad, before the RPG could be fired.

The UN refugee chief on Friday said that a new refugee crisis from Gaza must be prevented, referring to the possibility that hundreds of thousands of people already uprooted by the Israel-Hamas conflict could flee into Egypt.

"Many more (people) have been displaced into an already impoverished corner of an already tiny sliver of land. That violence must stop," Filippo Grandi, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, said in closing remarks at the Global Refugee Forum in Geneva.

"I want to be clear: what is already a massive displacement crisis within Gaza must not turn into yet another refugee crisis," he said.